Temporary covering and support structure therefor



J. B. MAST, JR

Nov. 7, 1961 P TEMPORARY COVERING AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24, 1959 John B Mm: Jr @g fill/ 51:1 1.?

TEMPORARY COVERING AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE THEREFOR Filed Feb. '24, 1959 J. B MAST, JR

Nov, 7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 Tu y r I M w S r a H j g m M w NV N\\ W B \N\ t T P. m U a m N? M 7 R w mm I E Q Q m 3 Rx g N MN United StatesPatent O 3,007,541 TEMPORARY COVERING AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE THEREFOR John B. Mast, Jr., 1000 Greenwood Ave.,

Zanesville, Ohio Filed Feb. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 795,172 2 Claims. (Cl. 182112) severe weather conditions, and which would eliminate g the resultant costs arising from interruption of work as well as possible damage to building-materials. The present invention providesa covering structure for accomplishing these objectives which is simple and economical and which has an outrigger scafiold or cross-walk for supporting a workman on the exterior side of a wall under construction so that he may strike and-inspect mortar joints from the outside instead of having to reach down over the wall as is the usual practice. The covering structure of the invention is particularly suitable for walls of buildings having no superstructure and which are more than a single story in height, and is readily movable from one location to another. The materials used therein are such that the space confined thereby can be readily heated, as well as providingfor the entry oflight. from the outside. In forming the covering, a plurality of rela tively wide planks are laid on a floor'of the building under construction so that end portions of the planks extend outwardly of the outer wall of the building a distance sufiicient to provide an outrigger for a walkway comprising wood scafiolding laid over they outwardly extending portions of the planks. A, steel scaffolding and support structure is positioned on the planks within the building, and a plurality of overhead lengths of pipe are supported thereby to provide an outrigger structure partially overlying the lower outrigger. These pipes are connected to the steel scaffolding by brackets which are constructed .to hook over pipes forming the upper portions of the steel scaffolding. The holes in the outer so that they will not be blown against the new walls and damage them.

Another object of the invention is to provide a covering structure as described which is roomy, so that it affords adequate space for workmen, materials, scaffolding and heating units, but which is formed of inexpensive materials and may be readily moved as the work progresses.

Another object of the invention is to provide a'covering structure as described wherein an integral outrigger sup port beyond the wall being built forms a walkway so that a workman may walk along the outside of the wall to inspect it, etc.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cover construction which may be readily assembled and disassembled without the need for special skills or tech niques, and which has a wide range of applications in a variety of building construction situations, particularly where work is underway above the first floor level.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds in accordance with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a covering construction according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the line IIII of FIGURE 1;

. FIGURE 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of a connection between support elements of the invention; FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlargedfront elevational view of another connection for the support elements of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a top. plan view of the structure shown in FIGURE 5.

Referring now to the drawings, a covering construction 10 is shown in accordance with the invention, comprising a base 12 including a plurality of planks 14 which may, for example, have a relatively wide width such as two feet and a suitable length, as for example, twelve feet.

- The base 12 is formed with the planks 14 extending in ends of the'upper outrigger pipes are used to secure rafters and wall panels to the cover construction, the wall panels being also secured to the lower-outrigger structure. These wall panels desirably are formed of woodstrip framework sections covered with a translucent polyethylene plastic material so as to admit light into the structure. The rafters serve to maintain the top in a rigid condition and also support a flexible, waterproof covering which is preferably canvas. On a side. of the covering which is oppositely disposed to the aforementioned transparent or translucent panels is placed a similar canvas tarpaulin, with its upper marginal edge preferably engaged beneath the top canvas and above the roof structure provided by the outrigger and rafters above referred to, the steel scaffolding and other structural elements cooperating to maintain the said oppositely disposed canvas in position. The other sides of the structure may be similarly enclosed and as indicated, suitable heating means may be disposed within the space thus confined.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a covering and support therefor which is effective to protect building walls under construction from adverse weather and to permit work to proceed uninterruptedly.

Another object is to provide a device as described which is weather tight and which holds the covering means spaced, parallel relationship along an upper floor 16 of a building under construction for a major portion of their length, with an outer portion 18 of the base extending beyond a wall 20 under construction, so as to provide an outrigger of a width suitable for a walkway.

A plurality of planks 22 are laid transversely on the outrigger portion 18 and accordingly a crosswalk is pro vided which permits a workman to strike the mortar joints of the wall 20 from the outside, thereby eliminating theneed for bending over the wall from within the building as was previously done.

A scaffolding structure 24 is mounted on the base 12 within the building, which is desirably of steel pipe construction and includes pairs of uprights, such as indicated at 26 and 28, positioned in spaced relationship along the respective planks 14 and within the boundaries of the building. The uprights may include base plates (not shown) for engagement with the planks 14 and which may be bolted to the planks. The uprights, such as the uprights 26 and 28, are joined at their upper ends by cross-pieces 30, and are desirably interconnected and rigidified by suitable braces (not shown).

In order to support the coverings for the device, a plurality of relatively elongated pipes 32 extend in overlying relationship to the base 12 and outwardly of the building in an outrigger formation. The pipes are individually supported by the respective pairs of uprights 26 and 28, and for this purpose brackets such as indicated at 34 and 36 are provided which are adapted to engage the respective pipes 32 as hereinafter described.

The brackets 34 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are preferably of a right-angular configuration and are fastened to the pipes 32 by suitable means such as looped bolts 38 having ends extending through faces 39 of the brackets and secured thereto by nuts 40 or other suitable means. The perpendicularly aligned faces 41 of the brackets 34- define inwardly and upwardly extending slots 42 for releasably receiving individual cross-pieces 30, and are positioned preferably adjacent the outer ends of the cross-pieces. The brackets 36 are similarly connected to the individual pipes 32 by looped bolts or the like 44, which may be similarly fastened to the faces 45 of the brackets by nuts or the like 46. The perpendicularly aligned faces 47 of the brackets'36 define inwardly extending slots 48 releasably receiving the individual cross-pieces 30, and are preferably positioned adjacent the forward ends of the cross-pieces. The brackets 36 may also be formed with integral flanges 50 engaging an adjacent upright 28 to secure the pipes 32 against lateral movement relative to the uprights. It will be seen that the upwardly extending portions of the slots 42 perform this function for the brackets 34.

The forward outrigger portions of the pipes 32 are preferably connected by suitable bolts such as 52 and 54 to transversely extending rafters 56 and 58, and other transverse rafters such as indicated by numerals 60, 62 and 64 may be laid across the pipes 32 in spaced parallel relationship to the rafters 52 and 54.

A flexible, waterproof covering 66, which is preferably a canvas tarpaulin, is laid across the rafters 52-64, and the rear wall of the protective device may be formed by a similar taipaulin 68 having its upper marginal edge disposed in underlying relationship to the rear marginal edge of the tarpaulin 66. A suitable weighting means, such as a piece of relatively heavy lumber 70, may be placed along the overlapping marginal edges of the cmerings 66 and 68 if desired. The uprights 26 and 28 have integral, rearwardly extending struts '72 formed therewith, a length of board or the like 73 being secured to the rearward ends thereof by suitable means (not shown) to hold the rear wall outwardly and increase the space available within the covering structure, and the ends of the structure it) are similarly provided with tarpaulin covering material.

In accordance with the invention, a front wall 74 is provided which comprises a plurality of panel sections 76 having frames 78 of lightweight wood strips joined at the corners by suitable fastening means (not shown) to define a rectangular configuration. These framework panels are covered along their lower sections .with a waterproof and weatherproof paper material 80- and have their upper portions covered with a translucent polyethylene plastic 82 to admit light into the structure, although other translucent and weatherproof materials may be utilized within the scope of the invention. The upper marginal frame pieces of each of the panel sections 76 have secured thereto inwardly extending brackets 84 which may be fastened or hooked into the open outer ends of the outrigger pipes 32, while the lower ends of the panels are supported by the lower outrigger extension 18. If desired, the front marginal edge of the covering .66 may be tucked between the front rafter 52 and the adjacent frame sections 76.

There has thus been provided a covering and support therefor which is effective to protect a wall under the process of construction, and which includes a front panel structure which is firmly positioned so that winds will not move it against the wall to damage the wall. The upper and lower Outriggers which support the panel structure also provide an outwalk which permits striking the mortar joints of the wall from the outside. e interior of the device is sufficiently roomy to provide easy working conditions and space for a heater, scaffolding, building materials and the like, and the materials utilized therein may be readily assembled and disassembled without difiiculty, so that it may be advantageously used in a wide variety of applications.

Although I have herein set forth and described my invention with respect to certain specific principles and details thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereunto appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A cover construction for use in protecting workmen in outdoor building sites and enclosing an unfinished wall of a building under construction comprising a base having a plurality of planks adapted to overlie a fioor of the building and to extend outwardly beyond the boundary of the floor and the boundary of the wall under construction, a plurality of scaffolding uprights on said base, a plurality of upper support members supported by said scaffolding members and extending in substantially parallel relationship over the base and the outwardly extending portions thereof and covering means supported by said upper support members including a relatively rigid panel construction supported by the outwardly extending portions of said base and said upper support members.

2. A covering and support structure for use in protecting a building wall under the process of construction comprising a base to be placed on a floor of the building and to extend outwardlyof the building beyond the wall at spaced intervals therealong, a plurality of uprights on said base, a plurality of elongated support members releasably connected to said uprights and extending above said base into overlying relation to the outwardly extending portions of the base and weatherproof covering means supported by said support members and removably enclosing the top and sides of said support structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 969,342 Cole Sept. 6, 1910 1,702,509 Johnston Feb. 19, 1929 2,462,096 Hamilton Feb. 22, 1949 2,702,546 Gilroy et al. Feb. 22, 1955 2,816,559 Kuhar Dec. 17, 1957 2,841,159 Graham July 1, 1958 2,845,078 Singleton July 29, 1958 2,848,756 McCann Aug. 26, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,789 Denmark July 13, 1903 

